Daniel Grayson
Daniel Grayson is Conrad and Victoria's son and their only biologically mutual child. He is a wild party boy, who subtlely resists his family's efforts to groom him as the future CEO of the family company, Grayson Global. Despite being Victoria's favorite child, he does not have free rein. Due to several incidents with the law in combination with his rambunctious party boy image, it has left him on thin ice with his father. However, they are able to mend their relationship. Biography He is the son of Conrad and Victoria Grayson and the older brother of his half sister Charlotte Grayson (they both have a $100 million trust fund). He is an all-American boy whose life embodies all that comes with being the firstborn of a wealthy family — high expectations to succeed partnered with a penchant for getting into any and all trouble his family can buy his way out of. However, when his party-boy ways culminated in a messy drunk driving accident the previous summer, Daniel’s free-pass was revoked by his parents and replaced with stricter boundaries and even higher expectations. At the start of the series, Daniel has returned to the Hamptons after a semester at Harvard Business School struggling to face the demons of his past and re-imagine the life he wants to live and the man he wants to be. Personality Daniel had been a party boy in the past and had a drinking problem but he had sobred considerably by the time Emily Thorne arrived and only got drunk when Tyler coaxed him to. He was trusting and easily manipulated by both Tyler and Emily. Although in later season 1 and especially in Season 2 he drinks a lot, like Victoria and Conrad. Tyler thought he was stupid and also suspected that Daniel might be scared of him once Daniel learned about his true nature. Although Daniel was a better person than the rest of his family, except Charlotte who was by far the most honourable and trustworthy of the Graysons, he had been raised to think about his family's status and reputation instead of telling the truth. He genuinely cares about people, including Charlotte, Emily, Tyler and his parents though the later are at different times and he turned on Tyler once he found out about his true nature and motives. Many people including Nolan, Aiden and Conrad underestimate his intellect and businessman abilities, despite the obvious that he is easily manipulative, except Emily and Victoria, who both believe he is capable of much more. Victoria says continually that Daniel is easily manipulated and controlled by the women in his life (Emily, Ashley and Victoria). Despite the fact that in early season 1, he was a genuinely caring person unlike his parents, he is notably slowly turning into his parents, by not telling the truth about his father at the interview, by continuously standing by his parents, by helping Conrad get the evidence from Victoria and trying to make her not confess against his father, and by standing by his parents and keeping the secret of killing Helen Crowely, framing Amanda and later Murdering her as well. He clearly despises his parents and their actions as he openly accuses them and yells at them (2x12). However, when it came to himself being in the same situation as Conrad 20 years ago, he does the same thing by framing Aiden, despite initially being hesitant. Daniel can be very obsessive, protective, possessive and jealous especially when it comes to Emily. As of the season 2 finale it is unsure if he killed Aiden, making him a murderer, like his parents. It is clear that when it comes to his parents poor actions he is despises his parents but stands by them probably because he feels he might as well profit off things that happened 20 years ago (Becomes CEO of Grayson Global) as he had nothing to do with it. He failed to acknowledge until late season 2 that everything they have is "blood money" at the expense of David and Amanda Clark, and all the people on Flight 197 and now RealEmily Thorne and Declan Porter. Despite his early intentions and confessions to Emily, he is becoming like his parents. He tried to turn the tables of Grayson Global to increase charities, however he fails to see that he is using the same company that has caused multiple deaths for this cause. He fails to see that you can't use bad things to make good, without telling the truth about Grayson Global and his parents past. However, it is not confirmed if Daniel meant that he took over Grayson Global to increase charities or to reconnect to Emily. When it comes to him being in trouble, he runs away (Paris). Season One Daniel has just arrived to the Hamptons for the summer after a semester at Harvard. When Emily regards Daniel as the "grey suit boy" Ashley tells her that he is "the tragically previlaged spawn" of Victoria Grayson. According to Ashley, Daniel rapt his convertible around a tree while with his girlfriend (who was a waitress) the previous summer. Victoria paid off everyone including his then girlfriend's family to prevent Daniel from going to jail. (Pilot) He began a relationship with Emily Thorne, unaware that she is Amanda Clarke and is seeking revenge on his parents. He tells her that it's nice to meet someone who doesn't know his past self. (Trust) His roommate, Tyler, coaxed him into drinking after Emily "bailed" on their date and caught her eating with Jack Porter. (Duplicity) Daniel decided not to work for his father so he was cut off his trust fund. After bailing Charlotte and Declan Porter from jail, he managed to persuade Jack into giving him the bartender job at the Stoweaway. (Guilt and Intrigue) Daniel's parents are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary with a private dinner. Those attending the dinner besides the Grayson family is Emily, Tyler, Ashley and Declan. Declan begins to insinuate that Emily keeps looking for his brother, Jack, which causes Daniel to get angry at Emily. (Charade) It's Daniel's birthday and Emily suggests a clam bake on the beach to celebrate. Daniel tells Conrad that he will only go back to the company if Tyler Barrol leaves, Conrad agrees. However, he does not know that Daniel is only doing that to get information for his mother so it can be used in the divorce. Emily shows Tyler's medication (which are antipsychotics) to Daniel and Ashley. Daniel finds Tyler and tells him to leave his house and "to get out of his life" which causes Tyler to lose control. When Emily goes to get Daniel's cake, a deranged Tyler confronts her, which presented a perfect opportunity for Emily to plant Frank's wallet on him. She taunts him until he pulls a gun on her and forces her to return to the party where he joins the family in singing "Happy Birthday" to Daniel. Tyler insists on playing "Truth or Die" with the family with the endgame of forcing Conrad to tell the truth about David Clarke. When Conrad refuses to play along, Tyler points the gun on Emily but is distracted by his brother's arrival which was enough for Daniel and Jack to take him down. Tyler is arrested while Daniel and Emily's relationship is strengthened. (Duress) Daniel takes Emily on a romantic dinner on a boat where he proposes and she says yes. In a scheme to get Daniel on his side, Conrad tells Daniel to ask his mother about her secret concerning Charlotte. When Daniel confronts Victoria he finds out that Charlotte is actually his half-sister and that her biological father is none other than David Clarke. When Victoria fails to confess that she was having an affair, Daniel assumes that she was raped and got pregant as a result. Emily was planning on ending her engagement but when Daniel tells Emily the conversation he had with his mother, her need for revenge is fueled and she tells him "How is June for the wedding?" (Commitment) Even after learning the truth about what his family did to David Clarke, Daniel defends his father in an interview with ABC News after the SEC start an investigation into Grayson Global which he described as a "witchunt" and would "stands behind Conrad as a son and beside as a partner in business as I prepare for my role in Grayson Global." (Absolution) He was currently engaged to Emily until the season finale. Season Two In the beginning of season two, Conrad has lifted the contingencies in Daniel's trust fund as long as he invests it all into Grayson Global along with his share of his mother's inheritence. He is always "brooding somewhere or drinking or maybe even doing both". Daniel is currently in a relationship with Ashley Davenport but when Conrad mentions that it's never too late to reconcile with Emily, who is a much suitable match than Ashley, Daniel reponds "at least Ashley is smart enough not to cheat on me". (Destiny) In a flashback during Daniel's first year of Harvard he tells his father that he may not major in Business because he is interested in Poetry and a professor even encouraged him to pursue that career. Conrad is seen burning Daniel's poetry and when asked if "it was that bad" by Victoria he tells her it was the contrary. "We speak in hushed voices so as not to wake our memories. The things we've done, the things will continue to do for fear of breaking the cycle. How fierce we were when we were young, when we were unafraid to becoming unhinged". In the end, Conrad said he would tell publishers to send courteous rejections to Daniel so that he can continue with his path as the future head of Grayson Global. (Lineage) Daniel is persisting on replacing his father as the CEO of Grayson Global. He is trying to convince an investor, Salvador Grobet, to vote for him since he has influence over the core members of the board of directors. Daniel has shown to be more ruthless in business as he manages to blackmail Grobet into voting for him when he takes a picture of him with Ashley and threatens to show them to his wife. Unbeknownst to Daniel, Victoria blackmailed Ashley into sleeping with Grobet. Daniel breaks up with her, successfully takes over NolCorp and becomes the new CEO of Grayson Global. (Revelations) Daniel is approached by the Americon Initiative. Victoria tells Emily that ever since their engagement ended Daniel "has become petulant and angry". After Aiden and Emily stage a breakup, Daniel's hopes of rekindling their romance intensifies. (Power) The Initiative continue to involve a naive Daniel in their plans by having him transfer money to smaller, unregulated and unstable economies such as Algiers and Bahrain that would come to the same end result: another Flight 197 waiting to happen. Victoria becomes so desperate to stop this from continuing that she tells Daniel that the Initiative were the ones responsible for the crash of Flight 197 disregarding the fact that they would kill Daniel if he found out the truth. Unknowningly to both of them, they were under surveillance the entire time. When Victoria is confronted by Helen Crowley, a member of the Initiative, she pulls a gun on her. Helen does not believe she is capable of killing her but Victoria says that "the mistake was hers the moment she put a target on her son's head" and then shoots her. (Union) The Grayson's continue to be closley watched by the Initiative which is why they started the Amanda Clarke Foundation. To everyone, this action seems very charitable and selfless but Daniel tells Emily that the real reason they set it up was to protect their assets when the Initiative puts their plan into action. (Illumination) Seeing that Daniel and Emily are getting close again, Victoria decides to take drastic measures. Unknowing to Daniel, she sent him a photo of them together in a restaraunt with two bullets leaving him to the conclusion that it was from the Initiative. (Victory) Daniel is once again engaged to Emily. After they get married they plan to live in Paris much to Victoria's horror. Daniel finds out that he is going to be an uncle. (Engagement) In the season finale, the Graysons find themselves penniless after Aiden swiped the Amanda Clarke Foundation. Daniel is alone at Grayson Global, having sent all his staff home, awaiting for the satelite to function once again. However, when an "IT worker" worker tells him it won't happen anytime soon, Daniel leaves to stand by his father's side in his campaign. Daniel finds out that Conrad "saved" his life by mitigating the damages with the Initiative that led to the bombing in Grayson Global Headquarters (which was planted by the IT worker). Daniel begins to suspect that Conrad is part of the Initiative, which Conrad later confirms in a conversation with Victoria: "There is no Initiative, my dear. There never was, not really. Simply a consortium of savvy business persons who perfected to the art of profiting of other poeple's fear. And when castastrophe strikes the public spends money, lots of it. And if one were able to anticipate ''such disasters they'd stand to make a fortune. Of course, predicting these acts of God is impossible unless of course one decides to ''play ''God." In a flashback, we find out that Conrad was "tipped off" about this "catastrophe" by Helen Crowley. Daniel is attacked by Aiden in Emily's house. Aiden tells him that "he has just given a man like him that is rarely offered, a second chance, to let Emily go" and as Daniel is in the ground he looks up and sees a gun. Afterwards, Daniel goes to Conrad's speech and tells him that he "needs to borrow a shirt". Blood is seen on his sleeve which infers that Daniel may have killed Aiden, who was not seen again. Daniel's half brother, Patrick, has arrived to the Hamptons. (Truth, Part 1 & Truth, Part 2) Relationships Romance Emily Thorne : ''Main Article: Emily and Daniel Daniel and Emily dated for most of the first season, though they broke up near the end. They briefly dated in season 2, but just as a plan Victoria came up with. Ashley Davenport : Main Article: Ashley and Daniel He began dating Ashley sometime between seasons 1 and 2 after telling him about Jack and Emily's kiss. They broke up after Daniel caught her leeping with Salvador Grobet. Family Victoria Grayson : Main Article: Victoria and Daniel Conrad Grayson : Main Article: Daniel and Conrad Charlotte Grayson : Main Article: Charlotte and Daniel Friends Tyler Barrol : Main Article: Daniel and Tyler Memorable Quotes *How do you plan to convince twelve strangers that you're in love with me when I'm not even sure myself? (to Emily in Justice) *What if the man I am is no better than my DNA? (to Emily in Absolution) *And I do believe these are yours. Feel free to use one for each of your two faces. (to Victoria concerning the bullets in Masquerade) Daniel_Quotes1.jpg Appearances Season 1 *''Pilot'' *''Trust'' *''Betrayal'' *''Duplicity'' *''Guilt'' *''Intrigue'' *''Charade'' *''Treachery'' *''Suspicion'' *''Loyalty'' *''Duress'' *''Infamy'' *''Commitment'' *''Perception'' *''Chaos'' *''Scandal'' *''Doubt'' *''Justice'' *''Absolution'' *''Legacy'' *''Grief'' *''Reckoning'' Season 2 *''Destiny'' *''Resurrection'' *''Confidence'' *''Intuition'' *''Forgiveness'' *''Illusion'' *''Penance'' *''Lineage'' *''Revelations'' *''Power'' *''Sabotage'' *''Collusion'' *''Union'' *''Sacrifice'' *''Retribution'' *''Illumination'' *''Victory'' *''Masquerade'' *''Identity'' *''Engagement'' *''Truth, Part 1'' *''Truth, Part 2'' Season 3 *''Fear'' *''Sin'' *''Confession'' *''Mercy'' *''Control'' *''Dissolution'' *''Resurgence'' }} Trivia *He is left handed. *Daniel is talented in poetry and had considered becoming a poet, but his father arranged for publishers to refuse him so he could pursue a more secure and lucrative career. ("Lineage") *As of season 2, Daniel remains unaware of Emily's true identity, the only love interest of hers with this distinction. *It was shown during the first season that Daniel had some problems with alcohol, possibly bordering on alcoholism, but throughout the second season he is seen having a glass of scotch once in a while. *He spent $1M on a bottle of wine that went "bad" in a charity auction. ("Sabotage") Gallery Dan.jpg Arms.jpg EDan.jpg Toast.jpg Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Grayson Family Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Harper Family Category:Season 3 Category:Season 3 Characters